How do I get rid of these brown/black flakes that show up in washer?
July 29, 2018 10:27 PM Subscribe
The condo that I am renting has a front-loading Maytag Neptune MAH5500BWW washing machine.
The first time I used it when I moved it, the washed clothes were covered in these brown/black flakes. Do you have any tips on how to get rid of them properly? It is similar to the last image in this post: https://monoandco.com/2015/10/13/housekeeping-cleaning-the-washing-machine/
After that first wash, I made it do a second rinse cycle that seemed to help but not entirely. If I shake the clothes most of this junk will fall off, and then the dryer seems to get rid of the rest. But I have a few pieces of clothing that I air-dry, and these stink of mildew the day afterwards when they are partially dry.
I have tried using two runs of Affresh on the hot/cold cycle with a heavy load but to no avail. I've left the door open to get everything dry. Today I tried doing a bunch of short rinse cycles with a white towel in side but it keeps accumulating junk on the towel. Online there are multiple accounts of using vinegar and baking soda but I'm not sure where to put this (in the detergent box, the bleach box, or in the washing drum itself). Also, many are based on a top-loading washing machine where you can let it sit. I can't really open the door on this one and fill it up with water.
Any help appreciated, please! I will contact landlord afterwards but he will probably tell me it's my responsibility to maintain it, even though I moved in less than a month ago.
After that first wash, I made it do a second rinse cycle that seemed to help but not entirely. If I shake the clothes most of this junk will fall off, and then the dryer seems to get rid of the rest. But I have a few pieces of clothing that I air-dry, and these stink of mildew the day afterwards when they are partially dry.
I have tried using two runs of Affresh on the hot/cold cycle with a heavy load but to no avail. I've left the door open to get everything dry. Today I tried doing a bunch of short rinse cycles with a white towel in side but it keeps accumulating junk on the towel. Online there are multiple accounts of using vinegar and baking soda but I'm not sure where to put this (in the detergent box, the bleach box, or in the washing drum itself). Also, many are based on a top-loading washing machine where you can let it sit. I can't really open the door on this one and fill it up with water.
Any help appreciated, please! I will contact landlord afterwards but he will probably tell me it's my responsibility to maintain it, even though I moved in less than a month ago.
Response by poster: I ran two cycles with an empty load and placed the tablet inside the washer. This machine does not have a cleaning cycle, so I ran it on hot water cycle. I could try a third cycle like it wants, but the issue is not odor but these particulates. I wanted to consider alternative options at this point.
posted by eliluong at 10:42 PM on July 29, 2018
posted by eliluong at 10:42 PM on July 29, 2018
Ah- worth the clarification, your post says with a "heavy" load. Maybe ask the mods to edit your post for clarity? See if you can find the manual and the troubleshooting section, but this is a normal thing for a landlord to deal with if it was funky upon move-in.
posted by charmedimsure at 10:45 PM on July 29, 2018
posted by charmedimsure at 10:45 PM on July 29, 2018
Response by poster: Oh you're right, it is confusing. I meant I put it on the heavy load setting, because I saw some articles online say to use this particular cycle if the machine doesn't have a specific cleaning cycle.
posted by eliluong at 10:49 PM on July 29, 2018
posted by eliluong at 10:49 PM on July 29, 2018
If you're putting a washing machine cleaning product through the machine and that's making it shed flakes, I don't understand why you wouldn't just keep putting the same product through the machine until it wasn't shedding any more. Seems pretty clear that the cleaning product is doing exactly what it's supposed to.
The flakes will most likely be the shredded remains of some kind of microbial biofilm that grows on chronically damp surfaces inside the machine between loads. The ones that came out of the machine when you first used it will probably have been film regions that had dried up, died and fallen off their surfaces while your condo was unoccupied, but quite a lot of what came out after the cleaning runs will have been killed by the hydrogen peroxide bleach released by the cleaner.
In other words, the source of the flakes is a specific contaminant inside the machine and not part of the machine itself, so if you just keep at them with your bleach runs they should eventually all get killed and washed out. Once they have been, reverting to a monthly bleach run should be enough to stop any internal biofilm building up to the point where it's thick enough to make more flakes.
posted by flabdablet at 10:58 PM on July 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
The flakes will most likely be the shredded remains of some kind of microbial biofilm that grows on chronically damp surfaces inside the machine between loads. The ones that came out of the machine when you first used it will probably have been film regions that had dried up, died and fallen off their surfaces while your condo was unoccupied, but quite a lot of what came out after the cleaning runs will have been killed by the hydrogen peroxide bleach released by the cleaner.
In other words, the source of the flakes is a specific contaminant inside the machine and not part of the machine itself, so if you just keep at them with your bleach runs they should eventually all get killed and washed out. Once they have been, reverting to a monthly bleach run should be enough to stop any internal biofilm building up to the point where it's thick enough to make more flakes.
posted by flabdablet at 10:58 PM on July 29, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also, I think the most likely reason for using a heavy load cycle if the machine has no specific cleaning cycle is so that the water level in a top loader gets high enough to hit all the bits where films build up.
A front loader is sloshy and splashy enough that every part of it is going to get wet even with quite small amounts of water inside, so for a front loader I would expect you'd get better cleaning results from choosing the lowest possible water level; that would make the cleaning solution as concentrated as possible which should improve its kill rate.
posted by flabdablet at 11:15 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
A front loader is sloshy and splashy enough that every part of it is going to get wet even with quite small amounts of water inside, so for a front loader I would expect you'd get better cleaning results from choosing the lowest possible water level; that would make the cleaning solution as concentrated as possible which should improve its kill rate.
posted by flabdablet at 11:15 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have professionally repaired home appliances (including washing machines) for around four years. Feel free to message me with appliance questions by the way.
Washing machines build up crud inside them. It's gross. Have you ever seen the bottom of an old dishwasher with the filter/screen lifted up? Or a toilet bowl that hasn't been cleaned in a while? Same idea.
All the stuff that comes off your clothes passes into the plastic water-containing tub around the metal/plastic cheese grater of your spin basket, through a drain motor, and then out the drain hose. That is a lot of surface area for crud and (as flabdablet says) biofilm to collect.
You mentioned that the problem began after you moved the machine; there's your first clue, that these bits were shaken loose.
My question is- is it in the drain catch or in the tub? Before water is propelled out by the drain motor, there will be a 'catch.' This is a little removable filter to catch socks, hairpins, wedding rings etc. before they enter the drain motor and break something. It is usually a part of the motor piece itself, and you'll be able to unscrew it without uninstalling the whole motor. (If your washing machine stops draining and starts to smell very... biological, I will bet you a dollar that a sock has gotten past the catch and caught in the drain motor, rendering it immobile.)
If there is going to be a wad of gross decomposing stuff that turns into gross flakes when hit with a cleaning fluid, it'll either be in the catch, or... the other possibility is that it's just a film around the inside of your tub. Just out of sight behind your spin basket.
What you need to do is check the drain catch, if it's accessible. If it's not, have a professional do it. If you don't want to do that, then UNPLUG IT SO IT'S NOT ELECTRIFIED and then watch YouTube until you feel confident you can void the warranty and take off the right panel to access it yourself, and check the drain catch. Once you've satisfied yourself that there's no decomposing old sock in there, you can try running a million cleaning tablets through it until nothing more can be dislodged.
posted by panhopticon at 11:16 PM on July 29, 2018 [9 favorites]
Washing machines build up crud inside them. It's gross. Have you ever seen the bottom of an old dishwasher with the filter/screen lifted up? Or a toilet bowl that hasn't been cleaned in a while? Same idea.
All the stuff that comes off your clothes passes into the plastic water-containing tub around the metal/plastic cheese grater of your spin basket, through a drain motor, and then out the drain hose. That is a lot of surface area for crud and (as flabdablet says) biofilm to collect.
You mentioned that the problem began after you moved the machine; there's your first clue, that these bits were shaken loose.
My question is- is it in the drain catch or in the tub? Before water is propelled out by the drain motor, there will be a 'catch.' This is a little removable filter to catch socks, hairpins, wedding rings etc. before they enter the drain motor and break something. It is usually a part of the motor piece itself, and you'll be able to unscrew it without uninstalling the whole motor. (If your washing machine stops draining and starts to smell very... biological, I will bet you a dollar that a sock has gotten past the catch and caught in the drain motor, rendering it immobile.)
If there is going to be a wad of gross decomposing stuff that turns into gross flakes when hit with a cleaning fluid, it'll either be in the catch, or... the other possibility is that it's just a film around the inside of your tub. Just out of sight behind your spin basket.
What you need to do is check the drain catch, if it's accessible. If it's not, have a professional do it. If you don't want to do that, then UNPLUG IT SO IT'S NOT ELECTRIFIED and then watch YouTube until you feel confident you can void the warranty and take off the right panel to access it yourself, and check the drain catch. Once you've satisfied yourself that there's no decomposing old sock in there, you can try running a million cleaning tablets through it until nothing more can be dislodged.
posted by panhopticon at 11:16 PM on July 29, 2018 [9 favorites]
P.s. if the manufacturer has bothered to make a specific self-clean cycle for the washing machine, use that one. Even use the proprietary cleaning chemical brand if they have one. They designed it to work with each other, and you might as well.
posted by panhopticon at 11:18 PM on July 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by panhopticon at 11:18 PM on July 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Clean the lint filter and see if things improve. This used to happen with my old washing machine because the lint filters got dirty easily.
posted by whitelotus at 1:46 AM on July 30, 2018
posted by whitelotus at 1:46 AM on July 30, 2018
I live in the UK (home of the front loaders). If possible, take out the drawer that you put the detergent into and have a look inside. Is it full of mould? Clean that out.
Is there a drain at the bottom? I looked at some pictures on google but I can't tell if yours has one or not. There's a drawer at the bottom of the washing machine, and if you take that off there's something you may be able to turn. Empty that too.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 2:15 AM on July 30, 2018
Is there a drain at the bottom? I looked at some pictures on google but I can't tell if yours has one or not. There's a drawer at the bottom of the washing machine, and if you take that off there's something you may be able to turn. Empty that too.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 2:15 AM on July 30, 2018
Crud may have accumulated and dried when the machine wasn't used for a bit. Now, with the cleaning and soaking, it is breaking loose. I'd fill the washer with towels, wash on hot with bleach and detergent until the water is clear. And is there's any disassembling you can do to reach in and clean, do that.
More than 1 plumber has told me that using too much detergent is terrible for washers and dishwashers, so in the future, take it easy on the detergent.
posted by theora55 at 5:55 AM on July 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
More than 1 plumber has told me that using too much detergent is terrible for washers and dishwashers, so in the future, take it easy on the detergent.
posted by theora55 at 5:55 AM on July 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
After you've run the Affresh, have a good go at the rubber gasket around the door. Then don't ever close the door tightly unless you've got a load of laundry running.
posted by kate4914 at 6:13 AM on July 30, 2018
posted by kate4914 at 6:13 AM on July 30, 2018
Response by poster: There's a parts manual here:
https://www.partselect.com/Models/MAH5500BWW/
And a user's manual here:
https://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/user-manuals/mah5500bww-maytag-parts-manual
So panhopticon said I physically moved the machine, but I meant to say this happened after I moved into the condo and used the washing machine (about two weeks from when old tenant left and I moved in).
There's no panel or anything in the front to access any sort of filter. And it's too big to move myself.
I don't think the machine is not draining, because I am running multiple washing cycles and water is not accumulating?
posted by eliluong at 7:21 AM on July 30, 2018
https://www.partselect.com/Models/MAH5500BWW/
And a user's manual here:
https://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/user-manuals/mah5500bww-maytag-parts-manual
So panhopticon said I physically moved the machine, but I meant to say this happened after I moved into the condo and used the washing machine (about two weeks from when old tenant left and I moved in).
There's no panel or anything in the front to access any sort of filter. And it's too big to move myself.
I don't think the machine is not draining, because I am running multiple washing cycles and water is not accumulating?
posted by eliluong at 7:21 AM on July 30, 2018
It sounds like the previous tenant did not keep up with washing machine maintenance. You might consider taking it up with your leasing company? It really sounds like the filter etc. might need cleaning and if you can't get to it safely, they need to help you do so.
A few other ideas:
After you have run these cycles, have you wiped up the debris that appears?
Have you pulled at the plastic/rubber seal by the door and wiped around it? Maybe get in there with an old toothbrush? There is sometimes really really gross stuff that accumulates in there. The Affresh tablets don't really get to it.
I would keep running it on hot with the tablets and wiping up what shakes loose and/or complain to your property management person/company.
posted by purple_bird at 8:15 AM on July 30, 2018
A few other ideas:
After you have run these cycles, have you wiped up the debris that appears?
Have you pulled at the plastic/rubber seal by the door and wiped around it? Maybe get in there with an old toothbrush? There is sometimes really really gross stuff that accumulates in there. The Affresh tablets don't really get to it.
I would keep running it on hot with the tablets and wiping up what shakes loose and/or complain to your property management person/company.
posted by purple_bird at 8:15 AM on July 30, 2018
If this was the problem you likely would have noticed already, but I have an older Maytag washer that actually became rusty after a while on the lid (mine is a top-loader). It was dropping rust flakes into my wash for a while before I realized. I ended up taking the lid off, spray-painting it with appliance spray paint, and putting it back; no more rust although I will need to do it again soon. So if you have any part of the washer that's straight metal that you can view or access, maybe check to see if it's rusty.
posted by possibilityleft at 8:56 AM on July 30, 2018
posted by possibilityleft at 8:56 AM on July 30, 2018
One more thing to check - if there are rubbery feed hoses to that automatic dispenser compartment and there are flakes in there, the hose could be shedding or gross inside and the flakes may be coming from inside the hose (which should be replaced)
posted by WeekendJen at 12:11 PM on August 3, 2018
posted by WeekendJen at 12:11 PM on August 3, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
Here are the Affresh directions I found online: Remove clothing or other items. Place tablet in washer, not in dispenser...Add one tablet to washer once a month using a "Normal" cycle with the hot water setting. For washers with a "Clean Washer" cycle, add one tablet to the washer and run the cycle. For machines where odor is present, run three wash cycles consecutively using one tablet in each cycle. Follow the same instructions as above. Remove any residue which may be left behind."
You might also google the brand and model of your washer with the word "manual" and then look for a troubleshooting section; this has saved me with some appliance woes in the past.
If a couple of clean cycles following the directions don't fix it, though, this is a normal thing to contact your landlord about. I am a landlord and if a new tenant told me this I'd have them run some clean cycles and then send my appliance guy out, and would not be irritated.
posted by charmedimsure at 10:39 PM on July 29, 2018 [2 favorites]